Conventionally, various types of sliding members have been known, and a semispherical shoe used for a swash plate compressor has been known as a sliding member used under severe conditions.
The semispherical shoe has a semispherical surface having a semispherical shape and a smooth end surface. The semispherical surface comes into a slidable contact with a semispherical concave portion of a piston forming the swash plate compressor, and the end surface comes into a slidable contact with a swash plate provided on a rotating shaft. Thus, the semispherical shoe is configured so that the semispherical surface serves as the sliding surface with respect to the piston, and the end surface serves as the sliding surface with respect to the swash plate.
The sliding surface of the semispherical shoe is usually manufactured so as to be smooth with a roughness not higher than the required value disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-153039.